Kari Lies
by Inugoma
Summary: This is a song fic I wrote, mostly based on the song by Jason Michael Carroll. What if T.K met Kari on the playground and discovered a dark secret she is holding onto. Can T.K and Matt help the little girl or will it be too late? Currently complete, but might continue in the future.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is a song fic, based on Alyssa Lies by Jason Michael Carroll. I suggest listening to the song before reading the story. I also apologize if the writing sucks, I'm still working on getting better at writing. Anyways happy reading folks.**

* * *

A small girl with brunette hair sat on the playground, shifting the small pink scarf she wore to hide the bruising around her neck. Her amber eyes looking around at all the other kids, a soft sigh escaping her. _Why do Mommy and Daddy hate us?_ She thought, not even noticing the other child sit beside her.

"Hi, I'm T.K" The other child said, snapping the little girl out of her thoughts.

"I'm Kari" She responded, wanting to seem nice to the other child. She had no real friends, apart from her big brother.

T.K watched the other child, he had seen her in class lots. But that day he noticed something that made him uneasy, he saw what looked to be her dad grab her arm really tightly when he dropped her off. "Why do you look so sad Kari?" He asked.

Kari shrugged "I'm not sad, I was just thinking. Don't worry about it T.K"

T.K watched her closely after that day, but didn't bring up what he had seen the day they met. 

After getting home a few weeks later, T.K bumped into his brother who was staying with them for the weekend while their dad was on a business trip "Hey Matt? Can we talk?" He asked the older boy, Matt was 12 and he would know what to do about the little girl in his class.

"Yeah sure, what's up?" He responded looking a bit worried himself, had someone been picking on his little brother? He could seen the poorly concealed worry and fear in T.K's eyes.

T.K looked at his hands "Well my new friend Kari, she lies all the time and I don't like it. I think she should tell the truth but she doesn't" He said quickly, making only a bit of sense.

Matt brushed off what T.K said, believing that it was over something childish like a misplaced pencil or toy. "Well T.K what does Kari lie about?" He questioned.

T.K finally turned his head towards Matt, tears reflecting in his eyes. "She hides bruises Matt, and when I ask about them she doesn't tell me the truth, she says that she just fell or bumped into something"

Matt's heart dropped hearing what T.K told him "We'll help her T.K I promise" 

"Kari go hide quickly, I can hear mom's car" Kari's older brother, Tai instructed, wanting only to protect his baby sister from the abuse they suffered nightly.

Kari looked unsure, if she hid Tai would be beaten worse for hiding her and she would be beaten for hiding. "It never works Tai" She said, bracing herself as the siblings heard the key in the lock.

"Hikari! Taichi!" Their names sounding slurred as the woman walking in yelled at them.

Tai looked at his little sister, as he walked towards their mom first. If she only saw him, then maybe he could get the brunt of the beating and save Kari some pain. "Hi Mom, how was work today?" He asked, trying to be as polite and kind to the woman as possible. If he could keep her happy, they could be spared for a night.

"Fuck off Taichi!" The woman snapped, hitting Tai with the bottle she held in her hands causing the bottle to break and cut Tai's cheek.

Kari grimaced as the sound of the glass breaking came to her. Her feet starting moving of their own accord, she hid her mom's abdomen forcing her away from Tai. "Leave him alone Mommy please!" She cried, standing in front of her big brother protectively.

The woman glared at the little brunette, throwing the rest of the bottle at her. Her eyes, which once were a bright colour were dull from years of drinking and stressing out, now narrowed at her two children. She never thought this would be her life, she was once a very kind and gentle woman but after losing her job, and being forced to find a new one, she picked up drinking. Yuuko Kamiya stuck the younger of the siblings in the face, before kicking her in the gut. "You are a disappointment Hikari! You've never been good enough!" She yelled at the eight year old laying on the ground.

Tai stood up on shaky legs, grabbing his mom's arm to stop her only to get knocked down, hitting his head hard enough to knock him out. By the time he came too, Kari had been beaten to a pulp and their mother was nowhere to be found. "Kari?" 

Matt laid down on his bed, looking over at T.K. He wanted to keep his promise and find a way to help his brothers new friend, but he had no idea what to do. He got up and went out to see his mom who was sitting and watching tv. "Hey Mom, can I have some advice?" He asked.

Nancy looked up at her older son and nodded "Of course, what's up Matt?" She asked, patting the spot next to her.

Matt proceeded to tell her everything T.K had told him, hoping his mom would know what to do to help the little girl.

"Well you can talk to her teachers and find out if they have any concerns for themselves, or we can go right to the child protection agency" Nancy told him.

"I don't want to overreact right away, I'll go with T.K on Monday and talk with the teachers" Matt said, going back to his shared room. Even after talking to his mom, Matt still proceeded to have his worst night of sleep yet. 

Come Monday, he walked with T.K to school only to be pulled aside by one his brothers teachers.

"Matt, I'm sorry to be the one to ask this of you but the other teachers and I have noticed how close T.K was with a girl in his class, Hikari Kamiya. Well, Kari was found dead on Saturday morning. Would you mind being the one to explain this to T.K, I think it would be easy if it came from someone in his family" The teacher said, looking heartbroken.

Matt nodded and walked T.K over to the steps, trying to think of the right words to explain to the younger male that his best friend was dead.

"Why is everyone looking at us so sadly?" T.K questioned.

Matt took a deep breath, putting his arm around T.K "Well...Kari won't be lying anymore in class T.K" He said.

"Did she get help? Does she have to go to a new school? I don't think that's fair, she has friends at this school..." T.K trailed off, noticing the look in his brothers eyes. "What?" He asked slowly, bracing for the worst.

"No T.K she didn't get help, Kari was found dead on Saturday. Because there was nothing anyone would do to help her, I'm sorry T.K. I know how much she meant to you" Matt told the younger of the siblings, tears falling down his face.

"Matt? Why did Kari have to lie?" T.K asked after a good 5 minutes of silence.

Matt hugged T.K close "I don't know T.K, I don't know"

* * *

 **So for those of you who actually listened to the song, I know it is a dad talking about his little girl's friend, but I like the idea of it being Matt trying to help T.K figure out how to help his friend. Also for anyone wondering what happened to Tai, I couldn't decide on that. If you all want more on what happened to Tai, I might consider continuing. Thanks.**


	2. Chapter 2

Hey Readers, I am so sorry that this took so long to post. The last year of my life has been insane to say the least, and I've had very little time to write. Anyways here is the next part of what happened after Kari died. I hope you all like it.

~Inugoma~

* * *

Tai looked out the window, to the street below. It was boring here today, unlike most days. He pulled a picture of a small brunette child, and smiled sadly, he had failed as a big brother, he lived while his baby sister was dead. _i At least she's in a safer place now and no one can hurt her anymore/i_ He thought, picking up the tv remote. He flipped on some news channel, zoning out while watching it until something caught his interest. 

_**Candle light vigil held for all those who lost their lives to domestic abuse, in honor of Hikari Kamiya who was beaten to death a month ago. Neighbours say they were shocked to find out that the Kamiya girl was being abused.  
**_

 _ **"The family always seemed so kind and functional, I'll miss seeing both kids"**_

 _ **The vigil will begin at 7:00 pm tonight.**_

Tai looked at the clock, he had 3 hours until the vigil. He stood up and cleaned up the few things around the apartment, before grabbing a sweater and leaving.

* * *

"Hurry up Matt, we don't want to be late" T.K said, pulling his older brother towards the park where the candlelight vigil was being held for Kari. He looked at all the people who had shown up and smiled a bit, it was nice to see that people cared enough to honor his friend. Among the people, T.K recognized most of them to be kids from school or teachers, but there was one person who he didn't recognize right away, the tall boy around Matt's age with goggles and spiky brown hair. "Matt who's that?" T.K asked, pointing to the goggled boy.

"That's Tai, I think he was Kari's brother or something" Matt answered, looking over at Tai. "Hey Tai!" He called, deciding to jog over and see the brunette.

Tai looked up at Matt, a quick flash of fear going through his brown eyes, something that didn't go unnoticed by Matt. "Oh hey Matt" Tai said, as his mind calmed down. "Are you here for the vigil?" Tai questioned, doing everything to avoid looking Matt in the eyes.

"Yeah, my kid brother was friends with Kari. He was the one to set all this up actually" Matt admitted to Tai, looking at him with a silent worry. Tai hadn't been in class for a few days, and now all of a sudden he's at the vigil for Kari. It worried that blonde male. "I never got to talk to you at the funeral, but I am truly sorry for your lose Tai. I can't imagine what it would be like to lose my younger sibling"

Tai nodded in mutely, looking to his hands. Although he may not live with his parents anymore, his life was still not what he wanted it to be. Each night he had nightmares of the night Kari died, his mind torturing him with the knowledge that he couldn't save her. Throughout the whole vigil, Tai stood silently as everyone said something nice about his sister, but one in particular stood out to him.

"Kari was my little brothers best friend, in the weeks leading up to her death, my brother was so happy, but worried at the same time. I will always live with the regret that I didn't step in when my brother first told me that he thought Kari was being abused. If only I had stepped out and said something, or gone to see her and her brother. I wish, I or someone had done something not only to save Kari, but her brother before something like this happened" Matt spoke, his words mirroring exactly what Tai's own mind said always. "So in honor of Kari, I'm starting Hikari's Hope, to help other children in abusive families" Matt added, as T.K held up a donation basket.

Tai felt tears come to his eyes, someone cared so much about his little sister that they would create something to help kids like himself and her. As he caught Matt's eyes, he nodded in a way of telling the other male that he had done good.

"Come on Tai, you've been in there for 3 hours. If we don't leave now, we're going to be late" Matt said, pounding on the door. He and Tai had an appointment to go see some potential kids, the pair had now been married for the last 3 years, and been a couple for the last 8 years.

Tai opened the door "I'm sorry Matt, I guess I go a bit nervous. It is the 10 year anniversary since that night" Tai said, his memory flashing back to that night.

 _Tai opened tried to stop his mother once he realized that she was going to hurt Kari, but his mother pushed him back, causing him to hit his head and pass out. An hour or two later, his eyes opened "Kari? Kari are you okay? Please you have to answer me" Tai begged, crawling over to his unmoving sister. He shook her slightly, before feeling for a pulse but found nothing. He heard a scream, although he paid no attention to who caused it, Tai's eyes were on his baby sister._

 _The next few hours went by in a flurry, someone had called the police and his sister was taken away under a white sheet. Tai had been asked a lot of questions by the police, but he found himself unable to answer any questions, he was in shock._

" _Is my sister going to be okay?" The 12 year old asked one of the paramedics who went passed him, he missed to look the medic shared with another._

" _I'm sorry to tell you this, but your sister is dead" Tai shook his head, they had to be lying Kari had to be fine, she was stronger than he was._

* * *

"No! Leave me alone! I hate you all! Don't touch my sister!" Matt and Tai heard as they walked into the foster home, the pair of girls, the older looking around 7 or 8, and the younger looking no older than 3. Both had the same messy brown hair, blue eyes and pale skin.

"Who are they?" Tai asked, glancing away from the children for a moment, to look at one of the social workers.

"Kaida and Jun, they were brought in a few weeks ago by members of Hikari's Hope. The girls were put through some pretty horrific things, and that's just what the mother has admitted to and what we've gathered from the girls." The worker answered, after pulling Tai and Matt aside. She didn't want the girls to over hear them talking about their past. "Kaida, the older girl is very standoffish with all of us, and she likes to be like a mother to her little sister. But Jun, she seems to do whatever necessary to please us. Both girls clearly have been traumatised" The social worker continued.

Tai nodded, as he listened to what the social worker told them, thinking back to his own childhood. "Can I speak to them?" He asked, watching the two girls.

The social worker nodded "You can try"

Tai made his way towards the two girls, stopped a few feet away before he crouched down to their heights. "Hi there, my name is Tai." He spoke in a soft tone, much like the one he used to use when he spoke to his little sister.

"Go away! We don't need you!" The older girl, Kaida, snapped at Tai as she moved to block her sister from Tai's sight. "You're just a stupid mean adult! You don't know anything about us!" The child kept yelling, hoping to make Tai leave them alone.

"You're right, I may not know your story but I do understand where you're coming from. The people who brought you here, the people from Hikari's Hope? Well they work for my husband, he runs Hikari's Hope" He started to explain. "I was hurt by my parents too, and they took my own little sister away from me, her name was Hikari"

Kaida's eyes softened slightly, realizing that he had been in a family like theirs. "So? Why should I believe you? Adults lie all the time"

Tai nodded again agreeing with the child, he turned and moved his hair to reveal an aged scar. "This was from the night my mom took her life" He explained, his voice breaking a little bit saying that. "I know you aren't ready to trust me or anyone else, but if you want to, I would really like it if you came to stay with my husband and I"

Kaida looked skeptical, as her hand went to a fading cut on her upper arm from the last time her mother hurt her. She turned to look at her little sister, Jun needed a safe place to live...a place where she would be loved. Finally after a good five minutes of silence, Kaida nodded "I want to try Tai" She told him, as years worth of tears filled in her eyes, and the little girl dove into Tai's arms.

Tai held the scared and broken little girl close, seeing Kari for a moment, Kaida looking so similar to his beloved sister. "It's going to be okay from now on" He promised, looking up and smiling at the 3 year old, who watched her sister with worried eyes. He motioned for her to come over as well, and once the two were in his arms, he stood up and walked back over to Matt. "These are the ones" He said.

Matt smiled at his husband, he knew the moment Tai heard the two girls that they would be the ones they would adopt. He also knew that if anyone could help these two girls, it would be Tai. "Of course Tai" Matt agreed.

* * *

"Daddy! Wake up! Kaida's having a nightmare again!" A 6 year old Jun frantically shook her adopted father. In the 3 years since coming to stay with Matt and Tai, both girls called them Dad and Daddy respectively.

"I'm up Jun, you stay here with your dad" Tai said, standing and walking towards his older daughters room. Every few months they had nights like this, and each time it was Tai who was able to calm down his older daughter. He sat down on the edge of Kaida's bed, and lightly put his hand on her back "Kaida, wake up baby girl, you can do it" Tai said softly, rubbing circles on her back.

The 10 year old's eyes snapped open hearing the soft tone that Tai used, the very one that put her at ease the day they met. She dove into Tai's waiting arms "She wouldn't stop Daddy, she kept yelling and hitting Jun, and I couldn't make her stop" She cried, holding Tai's shirt with all her might.

Tai held the traumatized little girl close "She can't hurt you anymore Kaida, I will always keep you and Jun safe. From today and forever more" He told her, shifting his back was against the wall. He softly started singing to his daughter, and by the time the song was done, she was back asleep.

* * *

"I can't believe both our little girls have grown up so quickly" Matt commented as he and Tai watched their youngest daughter Jun, accept her high school diploma. To him it felt like just yesterday that they had adopted the two girls, and now they had one in college and another on her way to college as well.

"I know what you mean" Tai replied, smiling as he noticed a little girl watching Jun. He gave a small wave when the unseen girl turned to him, it had been years since the last time he thought he saw Kari. "I'm okay now Kari, you can go" He whispered, watching as she nodded and smiled back at him before disappearing. After the graduation was done, Tai, Matt and Kaida went to congratulate Jun.

"Hey Daddy? Did you see her too? Aunt Kari, she came to see me graduate" Jun whispered, pulling Tai aside. Since the first time she saw a picture of her deceased aunt, Jun had seen her a few times, much like her adopted father, but the two always kept it between themselves.

"Yeah I did Jun, she's really proud of you, just like me" Tai replied, looking over to see Kari standing there once again. He nodded to her seeing her mouthing the words 'it's okay.' Tai felt the weight be lifted from his shoulders, it really was okay. He had a wonderful family, he was a proud father and husband.

"Hey Daddy, I'm going to take Jun out with my tonight" Kaida told her father, walking over to the two of them.

Tai nodded "That's fine Kaida, just be safe baby...and I love you so much"


End file.
